Lights for Detolf

[snoop101]

Alright cool. I appreciate the response Pixel. I'll definitely ask for the "bright white" LEDs then.

 

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

Snoop, if you're going to IKEA directly you'll see the dioder demo displays in a small area with the sealed packages below. Just make sure you grab the proper one you want, I can't recall the last time I actually saw a living employee in that section of the store.

 

[snoop101]

Snoop, if you're going to IKEA directly you'll see the dioder demo displays in a small area with the sealed packages below. Just make sure you grab the proper one you want, I can't recall the last time I actually saw a living employee in that section of the store.

Yeah I'm going in person. It's a decent drive too, so I'll be sure and pay attention then. Thanks for the help.

 

[Y4NK33 PL4N3T]

Yeah I'm going in person. It's a decent drive too, so I'll be sure and pay attention then. Thanks for the help.

Anytime. It's a good hour + drive for me as well, the thought of purchasing the wrong product and having to return it is vomit inducing. Might not be a bad idea to call ahead and check stock availability.

 

[snoop101]

Anytime. It's a good hour + drive for me as well, the thought of purchasing the wrong product and having to return it is vomit inducing. Might not be a bad idea to call ahead and check stock availability.

Yeah for sure. I'm definitely going to call ahead and see if they can hold a couple of detolfs for me.

 

[Geil]

QI have been keeping my eyes on dioders for years and they have never had different stock eg different color temperatures available. When ppl realized the change in color temperature it was a complete switchover so don't expect to be able to choose. The website only listing one I am pretty sure you won't be able to pick the "cool white" color. The only thing that would come close is the multicolour but those are nowhere near as bright as the white/yellowish ones.
I gave up some time ago as it was simply not cost effective and the best solution out there.


"Resistance is Futile"

 

[Pixelpiper]

Easy alternative is just to buy bright white LED ribbon from Amazon or eBay. $13 or so for 16 feet, plus another $14-16 for a power supply that can easily run two full strips (32 feet).

 

[Pennyworth]

Ok, received the lights from barlighting.com...after installation, here's my take:

Installation -

I was able to make this set fit, but, it's not ideal for a detolf. It comes with 4 strips, each with 3 1/4 ft of cable, and (4), 4 inch extensions or interconnecting cables. I have the power and the connection splitter coming through the hole in the top of the detolf.
To get the lighting to reach the splitter from the bottom shelf, I had to use 3 of the extensions, while using the fourth to get the 3rd shelves' lights to reach....AND, I had to mount the splitter in the 1st shelf behind my dio walls...otherwise, there wouldn't be enough length to reach it if it was on top. That being said, with my display, this works fine. The splitter is small and doesn't impact space needed for the dio at all:

The color

The "cool white" lights are a decent match for the older style dioder strip LED's from Ikea. With the naked eye, the difference is hardly noticeable to me (and my family couldn't perceive a difference). That being said, when photographed, you can clearly see a color difference. The barlighting.com lights are greener for sure:

Brightness

The barlighting.com LED strips have 3 more lights per strip than the Ikea lights so I figured that they would be a bit brighter....and they are...but it's not that much brighter. Again, photos exaggerate the difference:

So, all and all, I can't fully recommend these lights as either a replacement for Ikea dioders or to compliment them. I was able to get them to work for my space, but it's less than perfect and if you don't have any backdrops to hide the splitter, it will look a mess. (I still need to go back and tidy up some of the cables as it is.) The color difference is negligible, but knowing the OCD that plagues some members, others may not be comfortable with it.

pixelpiper - the advantages of ribbon LED's are clear after dealing with trying to match the dioders. If I add another detolf, I will most likely go that route, despite being somewhat intimidated by the process....but for now, I'm content with my set up.

 

[Pixelpiper]

If you're not into soldering, most of the guys who sell the LED ribbon also offer small clip-like adapters that you can attach to any cut strip end. It really makes it mostly plug and play at that point.

Here's an image of all the ribbon I'll be using to light my "Then and Then" Kenner/Hasbo Star Wars Detolf. I'm only using 6 LEDs per shelf.



Each end of wire gets pressed between the glass and the metal rail on each side. No other wires. And the strip and wires are covered (from the front) by a small lip I'm installing on each shelf.

Here's an image of the Detolf before the lights go in:

 

[aau10]

Thanks for the barlighting.com review. I was about to pull the trigger. I see that the LED ribbon is the way to go, price and color wise.

Basically I would like the exact same setup as the Ikea dioter. Its a clean and tidy setup.

I cant seem to find a splitter that has 4 outputs for each of the shelve on the detolf. Even with a splitter, I cant find a long enough wire to connect from splitter to the light strip. It seems like I would need to extend a few connections making it more messy.

Anyone can point me to the right direction?

 

[Pixelpiper]

A "splitter" is multiple wires attached together. Using this type of setup (dioder style) is a bad idea because it will only produce excessive wires. You don't need to create spider legs of wire. Instead, if you don't want to follow my suggestion of electrifying the Detolf itself (highly recommended), then just chain up the LED strips IN SERIES or run a pair of wires to carry power down one rail and connect each strip of LED to that (which is a parallel connection).

 

[aau10]

electrifying the Detolf itself (highly recommended), then just chain up the LED strips IN SERIES or run a pair of wires to carry power down one rail and connect each strip of LED to that (which is a parallel connection).

Thanks for the reply. How do you do this? Sorry I am noob at this....

 

[Pixelpiper]

How do you do which? Electrifying the Detolf? Or making the wire connections I mentioned second?

Here's how to wire up a Detolf so that each of its metal support rails is wired to low voltage power:

https://www.sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5437905#post5437905

 

[aau10]

Sorry, I meant making the wire connections.

When you said "in series" are you refering to use one led strip to power the next strip? Hence creating sort of a zig-zag wiring on the detolf?

"run a pair of wires to carry power down one rail and connect each strip of LED to that (which is a parallel connection)"

Could you elaborate more on this?

Thanks dude!

 

[Pixelpiper]

Sorry, I meant making the wire connections.

When you said "in series" are you refering to use one led strip to power the next strip? Hence creating sort of a zig-zag wiring on the detolf?

The LED ribbon comes in reels of 16 feet and can be cut every 3 LEDs - clearly marked on the ribbon. So you'll cut pieces of whatever size you want for each shelf and link them together with wire, either by soldering to the ends or with clips you can buy from the same sellers as the LEDs themselves.

So you plan out where the LEDs go, maybe put a piece of masking tape to hold them in place temporarily, and figure out how you will route your wire and how much you'll need. Then cut up some wire, make all the connections and then install. Wire connections are easy, basically positive to positive and negative to negative, each spot on the LED ribbon is also clearly marked. You're basically reconstructing the ribbon, but with wire between sections of LED. Use 22 or 24 ga wire if you're not doing very long runs and not doing multiple cabinets in series.

The other way is to run a pair of wires the vertical length of the cabinet and then make connections to it from multiple strips, all at different points. In reality this vertical run is actually cut or segmented into one section per shelf because you'll be making connection joints. You probably won't be able to do this without soldering as I don't think any of the clips available allow this kind of connection. Though I suppose if you wanted to add some bulk (harder to hide) you might be able to use some wire splices that you clip in place (available at auto parts/electronics stores)

This is similar to the Ikea hub idea, except instead of all the segments tying back to one single spot, you're making connections at multiple spots, keeping wire use to a minimum and allowing you to hide the connections.

Imagine the wire runs looking like this:

F
F

Where the bottom leg of the first F is tied to the top of the next one. The vertical legs are the wire running up the Detolf and the arms are the wire running to the LED strips.

This is much easier to demonstrate using pictures, so you should probably just do a search on Google where I'm sure you'll find plenty. There will also be a lot of content on Youtube showing how to solder these ribbons, etc.

 

[Pixelpiper]

Also of NOTE: When I used SERIES and PARALLEL terms above, this is in reference only to the wiring and segment placement, this is not describing the circuit which includes the printed LED ribbon strip. So when you go research SERIES and PARALLEL electrical connections on your own, this is not what I'm referring to. Wiring LED ribbon pieces in series does not mean you have a series-based circuit.

This is because the LED ribbon is a printed circuit board and the LEDs on it are already wired in a parallel configuration for every 3 units. So it's actually impossible to make a proper electrical series circuit (one where the voltage is divided evenly by the load). Example: placing 4 bare LEDs in series (positive wired to negative, and so on) with a 12v power source gives each LED 3v. Placing 4 in parallel (all the positives wired together and all the negatives together) gives each LED 12v.

 

[aau10]

Also of NOTE: When I used SERIES and PARALLEL terms above, this is in reference only to the wiring and segment placement, this is not describing the circuit which includes the printed LED ribbon strip. So when you go research SERIES and PARALLEL electrical connections on your own, this is not what I'm referring to. Wiring LED ribbon pieces in series does not mean you have a series-based circuit.

This is because the LED ribbon is a printed circuit board and the LEDs on it are already wired in a parallel configuration for every 3 units. So it's actually impossible to make a proper electrical series circuit (one where the voltage is divided evenly by the load). Example: placing 4 bare LEDs in series (positive wired to negative, and so on) with a 12v power source gives each LED 3v. Placing 4 in parallel (all the positives wired together and all the negatives together) gives each LED 12v.

Thanks for the advice. I will give this a shot!

 

[Rambler]

thanks for the tips Pixel. I was hesitant to do this because I don't want to solder anything, but since I can get clips to get this done, I will give it a shot. I can get everything for a good price with my Amazon Prime.

Do you mind a PM if I have any questions?

 

[snoop101]

Does anyone know Ikea's customer service email? It's not listed on their website, and I'd like to ask about the dioder LED's.

 

[Pixelpiper]

It's right in the "Contact Us" page of their site - actually very easy to find compared to many companies.

https://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/customer_service/contact_us/email_request.html

[email protected]